An Inside View of the State of BYOD

In the land of the enterprise, there is one trend that CIOs, no matter how hard they try, simply can't sidestep: Bring your own device, or BYOD. At a shockingly rapid rate, companies around the globe are letting their employees to bring their own devices to the office. What's more, those smartphones, tablets and laptops are being used for all types of corporate functions, including checking e-mail, accessing company data, and connecting to the corporate network. While BYOD does improve employee collaboration and productivity, it also raises important security issues.

In a new study from the security firm Webroot, the length at which BYOD has entered the corporate market is described in depth. Webroot found that not only do a majority of companies have BYOD policies in place, but an overwhelming number of them are watching employees use personal devices for work even when they're not authorized to do so. In other words, it's either support the BYOD trend or accept that employees will no longer listen to the IT side of the business.

8 of 10

The Threat of Mobile Malware Mobile malware is another chief concern for IT professionals, with 11% of them saying that it could hurt their company in a significant way.

Don Reisinger is a freelance technology columnist. He started writing about technology for Ziff-Davis' Gearlog.com. Since then, he has written extremely popular columns for CNET.com, Computerworld, InformationWeek, and others. He has appeared numerous times on national television to share his expertise with viewers. You can follow his every move at http://twitter.com/donreisinger.